


reeling

by helsinkibaby



Category: Star Trek: The Next Generation
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, Community: 1-million-words, F/M, Fluff, Het, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-29
Updated: 2017-10-29
Packaged: 2019-01-26 09:23:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,078
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12554316
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/helsinkibaby/pseuds/helsinkibaby
Summary: A nightmare leaves Tasha reeling in more ways than one.





	reeling

**Author's Note:**

> For the weekend challenge, my prompt was "Creature from the Black Lagoon". Which obviously sent my mind in only one direction...

Tasha stands and stares as the shiny black slick begins first to pulsate, then to move. The hairs on the back of her neck stand up and every muscle in her body, every fibre of her being, every instinct that's kept her alive over the years is screaming at her to move. 

But she can't. 

All she can do is stand, paralysed by a fear that's all too easily explainable as the shape of a man forms before her. Pitch black from head to foot, no eyes, no mouth, it's a creature out of any of the old legends from her world and a dozen others, with a low rumbling voice that sends shivers up her spine. 

The thing lifts its hand, points it towards Tasha and the next thing she knows, a burst of energy hits her square in the chest and she flies backwards. 

And then there is nothing. 

Only blackness. 

She jolts upright with a gasp, her heart pounding, her body thrumming with fear. Her breathing is rapid, shallow and when she brings her hands to her cheeks, they are wet with tears. "Lights," a voice, not her own, commands. Geordi sounds more awake than she might expect and when she turns her head towards him, she sees his brow knit in a frown as he sits up, reaching out blindly towards her. His hand finds her elbow first and, with that point of reference, moves easily to her back, tracing circles up and down her spine. 

"Did I wake you?" She already knows the answer, although she's surprised by how hoarse her voice sounds. God, she hopes she wasn't screaming. 

"Only a minute ago." He doesn't try to deny it and she's absurdly grateful for the fact that he's always honest with her. He shifts slightly, his other hand finding her knee. He's silent for a moment and she can practically hear the gears spinning in his head. "Armus?"

The word shocks her, makes her shudder, makes her stomach roll violently. Once that subsides, she finds herself staring at him. "How did you-"

Geordi's lips twist into something like a wry smile. He doesn't look happy to be right and he doesn't sound it either. "You weren't thrashing around so I knew it wasn't about running away from gangs." He leaves out the word that belongs in front of "gangs", like he always does. "That didn't leave too much else." 

She closes her eyes at how well he knows her. "It was so real," she murmurs, more to herself than him. She drops her head, drives the heels of her hands into her eyes as if that could drive out the memory. "Like I was back there..."

If she didn't know Geordi as well as he knows her, if he wasn't so close to her, she might have missed the almost imperceptible shudder that ran through his body. He hadn't been on that away team, had been sitting on the bridge of the Enterprise, had heard the whole thing. She's often wondered which would have been worse for him but as she lifts her head back up, sees the expression on his face, she finds herself wondering if there was any difference at all. "It was just a dream," he tells her firmly. "We're thousands of miles away from Vagra II ... you're safe now." 

"I know." She shifts, leans against him and slips her arms around her waist. She tells herself it's as much for his comfort as hers but when his hand moves up to cup the back of her head, when she closes her eyes and lets her cheek nuzzle his chest, she knows it's not. 

"Maybe you should talk to the counsellor again," he says. It's hesitant, because he knows her feelings about that, has heard them often enough. This time, however, she breaks with a lifetime of tradition and nods. 

"I'll make an appointment in the morning," she says. "Although Deanna's been talking about 'catching up' for the last couple of weeks." She'd almost been able to see the inverted commas around her friend's words. 

"Since the anniversary you mean?" Because that's when the dreams had begun to become more frequent, a year after she'd died and only the skill - some might say stubbornness - of Beverly Crusher had brought her back. "She's been saying the same thing to me." Which he'd never told her before and she lifts her head in surprise. He might not be able to see her face but her reaction telegraphs her surprise pretty clearly and he grins. "I guess she's worried that the woman I love technically dying on me could have some sort of an impact." 

It sounds like he's joking but only someone who knows Geordi well would recognise the pain simmering just underneath the surface of the words. She brings one hand up to his cheek, strokes her thumb along his skin and rests her forehead against his. She breathes carefully, in and out, in and out, concentrates on the warmth of his body against hers, the rise and fall of his chest, the faint beat of his heart under her other palm. She lets those sensations surround her, envelope her, and the last vestiges of the dream slip slowly away. 

There are so many things she wants to say to him, but she's never been big on words, on big flowery speeches. Just like she's never been big on declarations of affection, so she's surprised when the words, "I love you," slip out. She's said them, but rarely first, and he's surprised too, she can feel it in his body, see it in the way he blinks. 

"I love you too, Tasha," he tells her softly. He leans in and brings his lips unerringly to hers, kisses her the same way he'd kissed her a little over a year ago, the first time they'd been alone after Doctor Crusher had released her from sickbay and the Armus threat had been successfully contained. A mixture of fear and relief and passion, it sends her reeling as much now as it had then and she doesn't resist in the slightest when he lies her back on the bed, covers her body with his own and shows her just how he's feeling. 

She's feeling exactly the same and, later, much later, when she lies sated in his arms, she slips into a sleep where the dreams that visit her are far more pleasurable memories.


End file.
